Barton Vale House - Restoration

History Restored

Before Restoration

The South Australian
Government's restoration of Barton Vale House was led by architect Rob Cheeseman.
One of his major contributions was to develop a lightweight steel frame and
fibreglass clad replacement tower, utilising techniques he had seen in Europe.
This enabled Barton Vale to be restored externally to its exact original
appearance.

By mid 1991, all
structural and external work was finished as well as plumbing and rewiring.
However, at that time work was stopped with the interior incomplete when the
State Government decided the building was surplus to office requirements.

Barton Vale and its five
acres of grounds were then sold to developer Collaroy Developments which built
an award winning housing estate on the outer section of the grounds, leaving
Barton Vale on about an acre of ground. The sympathetic design of the estate
leaves Barton Vale standing solitary, not hemmed in. The estate is now Defence
Force housing.

Peter and Marilyn
Smith bought Barton Vale in 1995 as a combination of family home and
headquarters for their varied business activities. They have now completed
the painstaking restoration of the interior to its former grandeur. Working with restoration
specialist painter Lyell Rosenzweig, who had already painted
their two Barossa houses, the Smiths returned most rooms to their 1880s uses,
and where possible exactly recreated the stunning colour schemes found under the
layers of Institution Green by making scrapes to reveal the original colours and
designs.

Scrape of Ballroom ceiling

The colours include
ochres, various greens, burgundy, with elaborate cornices and ceiling roses.
There are a variety of woodgrainings, particularly oak and cedar.

The Drawing Room and
Dining Room are particularly attractive examples of early Victorian decoration,
light and airy, with elaborate colour schemes. Much hand painting of cornices
and friezes was required.

Barton Vale is very much
on the grand scale, reputed to be the largest private home remaining in
Adelaide. There are almost forty rooms, most of them now back in daily use. The
central hall with its first floor gallery rises some 45 feet to vaulted
ceilings. (Click here for photographs) Other main rooms are about 30 feet by 20
feet with ceilings at 18 feet.

There are over half an
acre of floors, and Jarrah, Baltic and Huon Pine floors have been carefully
restored. Most stained glass windows managed to survive the institution period,
and now form a feature of the spectacular stairwell some ten metres high.

For his work on the grand
hall and stairwell of Barton Vale, Lyell Rosenzweig won the 1997 South
Australian Award of Excellence for Heritage Restoration and won the Award in 2000 for
Decorative Painting. Lyell can be contacted on (08) 8563 3326.

The Grand Ballroom was the final
restoration among the main rooms of Barton Vale. This splendid room, some
40 feet by 30 feet, has two marble fireplaces (now restored
after severe vandal damage) imported double ceiling roses, and French doors onto
a large verandah. Paint scrapes revealed its original colours were pinks
and greys, unique in the house, and now meticulously restored. It is now restored, it will be used by community
groups for intimate concerts and other cultural activities.

Barton Vale has been
resurrected to once again become one of the architectural gems of Adelaide. On
the Register of the National Estate it is described as "a magnificent two
storey stone mansion of immense architectural merit and splendour".

The wonderfully
atmospheric photographs in this Website of Barton Vale on the night of Boxing
Day 1997 were taken by award winning Air Force photographer Rob Hack who lived
nearby.

While Barton Vale is not
normally open to the public, Peter and Marilyn Smith willingly accept
pre-arranged visits by individuals or groups with a genuine interest in historic
architecture. Members of the Bowman family are particularly welcome.

Click here to see the
restored Barton Vale House, together with examples of the fine internal
details.

Contact information: marilyn.smith@... Please turn on JavaScript to see the Address!